Good news for Discover Boating and Magnuson-Stevens

The industry’s Discover Boating national campaign continues to pursue its mission — to inspire and motivate people to get out on the water — with the release of a new video in the “Stories of Discovery” series. It brings to six the number of videos now available.

The newest video features the Norwitch family and the center console boat they use for fishing and diving. But the real story is the relationships that have been built between Eric Norwitch and his two sons Andrew and Hunter. “As a parent, there’s maybe no better feeling than being able to share what you love with your kids.” The video captures their shared boating experiences. The photography is excellent.

The Norwitch family video joins the other new story just introduced. Ashley Rae is a young angler who quit her lucrative medical administration position to pursue her passion for fishing full-time. When she’s not in fishing competitions, she’s writing about it in her blog.

There are some notable things about the overall “Stories of Discovery” lineup. Last year, the initial four videos scored a whopping 9 million views. With the latest two additions, half the videos now feature younger people and one video, produced with the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, is aimed at the huge Hispanic market. “Vamos A Pescar” (Let’s Go Fishing) is expected to reach 68 percent of Hispanics throughout the U.S. this year.

The “Stories of Discovery” are cornerstones of the Discover Boating 2015 program that began earlier this spring. The stories will appear on more than 10,000 websites this year. Nationally, the Discover Boating media buys that premiere this month will reach millions more viewers during the summer.

Finally, the Discover Boating section that features the “Stories of Discovery” is now integrated with the Discover Boating site, making it much easier for visitors to navigate through the Discover Boating content after being inspired by the videos.

The videos and much more content is available to dealers for their websites as part of the industry’s Grow Boating Initiative. If you want to see all the Stories of Discovery, just go to www.discoverboating.com.

Fishing bill moves

The long-awaited vote in the U.S. House on the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary law governing saltwater fisheries management in federal waters, was expected to get the green light Monday night.

Specifically, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is the sponsor of “The Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act” (H.R. 1335). Young’s bill has the support of Boating United, a coalition of boating businesses and recreational fishing organizations. Boating United put out the call late last week for supporters to urge their representatives to vote for the bill. Passage, Boating United said, would ensure the nation’s 13 million saltwater anglers have access to the abundant fishery public resource.

Boating United was also urging adoption of three amendments to Young’s bill. (1) An amendment by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) that gives NOAA Fisheries the authority to implement management practices better tailored to the nature of recreational fishing; (2) An amendment by Rep. Garrett Graves (R-LA) to transfer management of Gulf of Mexico red snapper to the five Gulf states, which are capable of sustainably managing this fishery while allowing for reasonable public access; (3) An amendment by Rep. Young that will improve fisheries science by better incorporating data collected by anglers into management.

For the first time since Magnuson-Stevens was passed in the 1970s, the recreational angler is being considered as an important player in the future of federal fish management. Boating and fishing organizations have been working to support Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization in a way that addresses the priorities of the recreational fishing community with it $70 billion annual impact. Their message: Boat dealerships, marinas, tackle shops, gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, motels, lodges, clothing manufacturers and a host of other businesses benefit from the dollars spent by recreational anglers.

Caterpillar Inc. will close two facilities in Texas and Panama and is considering shutting its engine manufacturing plant in Illinois as part of a strategy to boost profitability and better handle business cycles, according to Reuters.

Danielle Brown, vice president and chief information officer for Brunswick Corp., was recently honored among the "Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America" as chosen by Savoy Magazine, a leading African-American lifestyle publication.